Recap: by South Regional Editor,
John Sullivan

The 17th Annual Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival was held at the University of Arkansas cross country course in Fayetteville. The course was in good condition and had been extended to a full 5000m after it was discovered to have been short last year. The weather was nice although the heat and dust did effect some of the runners as the day wore on. The Boys Invitational race was at 11:45 am while the Girls was at 1:15 pm.

BOYS RECAP:

This field was deep with most of the top teams in Arkansas competing. They were joined by a strong out-of-state contingent including SO#6 The Woodlands TX (2004 meet champs), HL#5 Potosi MO, SO#9 Fayetteville AR and SO#10 Tupelo MS.

The start was a sea of color with 331 runners. At the mile the lead pack at 4:48 included The Woodlands TX sr Daniel Gerber and Broken Arrow OK soph Ryan Farrar. Gerber then began to press the pace and established a gap. At 1.5 miles The Woodlands team was in good shape with Gerber leading, its next two at 12-13 and others in the hunt. Potosi MO had two near the front and looked to be the leading challenger. On the long gradual uphill leading to the 2-mile Gerber was all alone. He maintained his lead and looked comfortable cruising home in 15:21 on the newly lengthened course. Heading for home Potosi MO jr Josh Mathis held a slight lead on Crested Butte CO sr Daniel Roberts, but Roberts used a strong finish to tie Mathis for 2nd in 15:30. Potosi jr Josh Thebeau garnered 4th in 15:50 followed by Choudrant LA soph Kasey Baker in 15:53 for 5th.

Potosi capitalized on the strong finishes by Mathis and Thebeau and 4 in the top 20 to take the team title with 76 points and a 16:09 average. The Woodlands finished 2nd with 111 and a 16:18 average. Lockhart TX, state ranked #2 in 4A, captured the bronze with 215.

Potosi's Josh Mathis, a 9:23 performer last spring as a soph, said the race went well, but "it was hard to breathe (dusty) compared to Missouri." Teammate Josh Thebeau, 4:15 as a soph, said his team is currently the #2 team in Missouri behind Liberty and finished 2nd in state 3A to West Plains in 2004. Coach Steve Davis said, "Mathis has won 4 out of 6 races this year and was 3rd at Rim Rock. Today our top two ran well, hanging back early and then picking it up at 1.5 miles. And our 3-4-5 closed well.

Crested Butte CO sr Daniel Roberts (obscured) closes on Potosi MO jr Josh Mathis (yellow) with just meters to go as they tied for 2nd. Photo by John Sullivan

GIRLS RECAP:

The favored teams were SO#3/US#15 The Woodlands TX, SO#9 Tupelo MS and SO#10 Bishop McGuinness OK. Other top teams were nine of last yearís top 10 from the 2004 Arkansas state meet, Edmond Memorial OK and Ruston LA.

A small group established itself at the front early. This pack, including The Woodlands sr Cheryl Spring and jr Adrienne DiRaddo as well as Tupelo jr Claire Corban, passed the mile in 5:39. These three were close for another 500m and then Spring started to open a gap with her teammate DiRaddo the closest pursuer. Nearing the 2 mile mark Spring was in command with St Thomas Aquinas sr Whitney Curry closing slightly. Spring continued to lead and crossed the finish in 18:15 for the win. Whitney Curry was all alone in 2nd in 18:21. Claire Corban and Adrienne DiRaddo pushed each other the last mile with Corban grabbing 3rd in 18:39 and DiRaddo 4th in 18:41. Crested Butte CO sr Elizabeth Bruce finished 5th in 19:04.

The Woodlands struck team gold with 4 in the top 11 and a total of 52 points. Coach Noel Hansen felt like his top 4 ran well, but was concerned about the team title as #5 was further back than he was comfortable with. Tupelo MS, without its normal #3 girl, took silver with 90 points edging Ruston LA with 99.